Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo is the ultimate dump and start, one pot dish! The pasta is cooked right in made from scratch Alfredo Sauce making it flavor packed! The chicken is perfectly cooked, EVERY time! This is so easy, even someone using their pot for the first time will excel!
Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo
It’s about time I get this post written! I’ve been meaning to get it written for literally the past year.. So many recipes, so little time!
One of the most popular recipes on my website is my Instant Pot Dump and Start Alfredo Recipe. Aaaand the most popular question is ‘How can I add chicken to this?’. So today, friends of the internet, you get the answer, and you don’t even have to read through the hundreds of comments on the original post to find it. 😉
Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo, is sincerely one of the easiest recipes you can make in the Instant Pot. No prep, just open things and dump. A little stirring at the end and chopping the chicken is all that is required.
What Ingredients Do I Need for Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo?
You’ll only need a hand full of ingredients to make delicious, better-than-the-restaurant, Chicken Alfredo. I will go through the most frequent substitutions questions a little further down.
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp minced garlic, dried (can substitute 4 fresh cloves, minced)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 8 oz (or 1/2 package) linguine pasta
- 4-6 frozen chicken tenderloins
- 3/4-1 cup shredded parmesan cheese (in the refrigerator section, not the powdered Parmesan in the green can
- fresh parsley to garnish, if desired
How to make Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo
To make the Chicken Alfredo, it is as simple as throwing the ingredients into the Instant Pot or pressure cooker. It is very important to follow the order of the ingredients and the directions exactly for guaranteed success.
First, pour the chicken broth, heavy cream, garlic, salt and pepper into the Instant Pot. Next, place the pasta into the liquid. The liquid should cover the top of the pasta, you can move the pasta around a bit if needed (if it isn’t covered with liquid, it won’t cook!) but do not stir!! Stirring will settle the pasta at the bottom of the pot, which we don’t want.
Next, place the frozen chicken tenderloins on top of the pasta. You can season them with salt and pepper, if desired. Now, pressure cook on high pressure for 6 minutes with a 6 minute natural pressure release before turning the knob to release the remaining pressure.
As shown in the photo above, it will be VERY liquid. This is totally normal and expected.
Remove the chicken, and let it rest while we add in the parmesan cheese. Slowly add in the parmesan cheese while twirling the pasta with tong’s. The parmesan cheese will help flavor and thicken the sauce.
After the sauce has thickened, chop the chicken and add it back into the pot along with some fresh parsley, if desired.
Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo with Penne Pasta
One of the most frequent questions I get on the original Alfredo post is about substituting pasta. The key here, because we are adding chicken and the chicken requires the cook time to stay the same, is to substitute the linguine for another hearty pasta that requires the same cook time (6 min high pressure with a 6 minute natural pressure release).
Pasta’s that can be substituted for the linguine are penne, ziti and rotini.
Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo with Evaporated Milk
Another frequent question I receive is ‘what can I substitute for the heavy cream?’. The answer is evaporated milk BUT, you need to cook it with a slightly different method. If evaporated milk is added before pressure cooking, it runs the risk of curdling. Heavy cream has enough fat to stabilize it under pressure, which is why it is okay to add it before pressure cooking.
If you want to substitute evaporated milk, follow the recipe for my Skinny Alfredo and add frozen chicken tenders on top of the pasta.
Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo with Broccoli
A lot of people like to serve broccoli with their Chicken Alfredo. I am one of those people, too! Unfortunately, there isn’t a good way to cook the broccoli in the pot at the same time as the pasta and chicken. The broccoli would be totally disintegrated by the time 6 minutes on high pressure was over (for reference, broccoli usually cooks for 0 minutes!).
I suggest either steaming your broccoli in the microwave or roasting your broccoli in the oven while your Instant Pot does it’s thang with the pasta and chicken. I prefer to roast it in the oven, that is my favorite!
Can I use Chicken Breasts instead? My Tenders are not frozen?
Let’s talk chicken. I suggest using frozen tenderloins because you will get consistent results every time. Tenderloins are generally the same shape and size, which is why we can assign it a set cook time with no issues.
Chicken breasts are not the same way. They just are never the same size, thickness etc which makes it really difficult to write a recipe that will be successful every single time.
If you only have chicken breasts, I would suggest thawing them and then cutting them in half, so they are about 3 inches wide.
If your tenders are not frozen, they won’t need to cook as long as the recipe calls for. In this case, I would recommend changing the pasta to either medium shells, macaroni, or pasta salad noodles and adjust the cook time to 3 minutes high pressure with a 6 minute natural pressure release.
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More Instant Pot Recipes you will LOVE!
- Chicken Pot Pie
- Chicken and Dumplings
- Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup
- Cauliflower Cheese Soup
- French Dip Sandwiches
- Creamy Salsa Chicken Tacos
- Salisbury Steak Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes
- Dump and Start Creamy Ziti
- Instant Pot Pot Roast
- Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells
- Hawaiian Haystacks
Equipment
- pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp minced garlic dried
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8 oz linguine pasta*
- 4-6 frozen chicken tenderloins
- 3/4-1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Add the broth, cream, garlic, salt, pepper and noodles to the Instant Pot in that order. Do not stir, but make sure all noodles are covered. You can move things around a bit, but don't stir.
- Lay the frozen chicken tenderloins on top of the pasta.
- Set your Instant Pot to Manual high pressure for 6 minutes. Allow for a 6 minute natural pressure release before turning the knob to quickly release the pressure.
- Remove the chicken. Let it rest while we finish the sauce.
- Slowly add in the parmesan cheese and twirl the noodles with some tongs. The cheese will thicken the sauce.
- Once the cheese has been added and the sauce has thickened, dice the chicken and add back into the pot.
- It is ready to eat, enjoy!!
Notes
Nutrition
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Judy says
I made the Chicken Alfredo pasta tonight. Oh my was that good! This will definitely be a go to at our house.
Karli Bitner says
Yay! I am so happy to hear this, Judy! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Kristy powers says
I tried making this but my chicken wasn’t done . What did I do wrong ?
Karli Bitner says
Hi Kristy- did you use frozen chicken tenderloins?
Mary Y says
How do you deal with the food burn notice? I added some regular milk after getting it twice, so hopefully that won’t make it taste weird.
Karli Bitner says
Hi Mary- this recipe shouldn’t give you the burn notice, in fact you are the first person to report this. Regular milk will curdle if used under pressure so I wouldn’t recommend that. In general, the burn notice happens because a) there isn’t enough liquid or b) some solid food has stuck to the bottom of the pan. Did you add the ingredients in the order that was listed? Did you stir? Stirring the pasta can make it settle to the bottom and burn. I hope this helps explain it a bit!
Jessi says
I am trying this, and I got a burn notice as well. I am using penne instead of liguine. And I don’t usually have chicken tenders – but breast. I’m wondering if the chicken was too heavy and pushed the noodles down. I tried taking a spoon to lightly remove the noodles from the bottom. I’m on my second attempt, and I think it just beeped meaning it’s good! Fingers crossed!
Karli Bitner says
Yeah, those chicken breasts were probably too heavy and made some of the noodles stick and burn to the bottom, hopefully the second try went better!!
Suzanne says
This was great!!! My hubby requested chicken Fettuccini Alfredo and he was impressed. Thank you!
Karli Bitner says
I am so happy to hear this! A happy husband with a full tummy is always my goal when writing recipes. 😉
Cristine says
How long for fresh chicken tenderloins?
Karli Bitner says
Fresh chicken tenders cook for 3 minutes high pressure with a 6 minute NPR- but the pasta won’t cook through with that cook time. So that is why I suggest using frozen chicken tenderloins.
Carol T says
I followed the recipe exactly and it was delicious,, but after a 6 minute natural release I turned the knob to release the remaining pressure and cream and broth came flying out the the vent all over my ceiling, cabinet, wall and window! It happened so fast and I couldn’t stop it, such a mess. I was wondering if anyone else had the same experience?? And could somebody tell me what I might have done wrong. It was really quite funny and I’m glad I didn’t have company in for dinner. Like I said in the beginning my husband and I enjoyed the meal but not the clean up after!!
Karli Bitner says
Hi Carol- I am so sorry this happened! That is the worst! Do you happen to have a smaller Instant Pot? When cooking with pasta, you know how on the stovetop it gets all foamy and sometimes boils over? The same thing is happening inside of the Instant Pot! That is why the NPR is so important, even after the NPR, it has a small possibility of coming out of the top. If that starts to happens again (as soon as you hear anything), just quickly close the vent with a long spoon and wait an additional minute and then try again. This should fix the problem! So sorry that happened to you!
Carol Camara says
I have a 6qt, who knows! It didn’t look to full.. thanks for the advise and I definitely will try again.
Carol
Morris says
Can you use half&half instead of heavy whip
Karli Bitner says
Hi Morris- unfortunately half & half doesn’t have a high enough fat content and may curdle while cooking under pressure. The only dairy that should go in the Instant Pot prior to pressure cooking is heavy whipping cream. There are instructions in the post for substituting the heavy cream within the post above that my help!
Laramee Nicholson says
How long would you cook if you were using frozen chicken breasts?
Karli Bitner says
Hi there, as stated in the post ‘If you only have chicken breasts, I would suggest thawing them and then cutting them in half, so they are about 3 inches wide.’ Reasoning for why frozen chicken breasts will not work with this recipe can also be found in the body of the post. Thanks!
Angela says
Could you use gluten free pasta with this recipe
Karli Bitner says
Hey Angela, I haven’t tried the gluten free pasta with this recipe. If you tried it, could you please let me know how it turns out. I know that it cooks differently so I would be curious to know how it goes. Thanks!
Bethney says
I tried this with gluten free penne and it was perfect!
Janna says
I have made this once before and it is awesome!! This time, I would like to double the amount of chicken, in the evaporated milk version, any other adjustments necessary to do that and still be awesome?
Karli Bitner says
Hi Janna! No need to make any further adjustments. 🙂
Tracy says
Can you use rotisserie chicken that is already cooked?
Karli Bitner says
Sure! You could just toss it in at the end with the cheese.
Katie D says
How many ounces would you use of a short cut pasta?
Karli Bitner says
You’ll still use the 8 oz of pasta. 🙂
Michelle Moore says
Any changes to the time if you want to add mushrooms or onion? I’m guessing you’d want to saute the onion and then add the other ingredients, but curious what your recommendation is. Thanks!
Karli Bitner says
No need to change cook time! Yes, I’d do as you said and sautés them first, or on the stovetop while the Instant Pot is doing it’s thing and then add them at the end.
Sharon says
Hi Karli
Can I use regular thawed boneless skinless chicken breasts and if so how many please ?
Thanks
Sharon
Cooking with Karli says
You would want to cut the chicken breast into chicken tenderloin sizes. They don’t cook evenly enough when they are too big. Thanks Sharon
Amanda says
This was delicious! But is there a trick when using the frozen chicken tenderloins? I bought a package of about 1.5 lbs of frozen tenderloin and stuck it in the freezer, but when I went to make this recipe, the frozen tenderloins would not come apart. I was hesitant to defrost in the microwave since the recipe calls for them to be frozen still. We ended up adding them to the instant pot in frozen chunks, which did not cook them all the way through. Had to grill them on the stove for another 10-15 minutes to cook them properly. Turned out great after that, but wondering how to avoid this in the future to make it a true one pot recipe? Let me know please!!
This is being added to our regular rotation because it made a lot of food, and is still so good each time!! We added broccoli and served it with a caesar salad. So hoping I can learn from my mistake for next time and make it the right way!!
Karli Bitner says
Hi Amanda- you can purchase the chicken tenderloins already frozen, which will make it so each tenderloin is frozen severalty, not all together in one clump. That will solve your problem with the undercooked chicken!! I am glad you enjoyed the recipe still. 🙂
Theresa says
Can I double this recipe
Karli Bitner says
Yes, double the ingredients, cook time stays the same.
Kim says
I had my adult kids over and doubled the recipe, they loved and wanted me to make more next time! I would like to make it again for my husband and I but neither of us felt the chicken was necessary as we aren’t super big meat eaters. Does the cook time change without the chicken?
Karli Bitner says
Leaving out the chicken won’t change the cook time. No other ingredient need to change either, just simply omit the chicken. I am glad you and your kids loved it!
Jenn says
This is a favorite Instant Pot meal! It’s great for a quick meal with little prep, and is so delicious. One lesson learned for me is that the parmesan seems to melt more cohesively when shredded on a fine grater (like a microplane) versus a small box grater. I always keep a block of parmesan and heavy cream in the fridge just so we can make this recipe quickly.
Katlynne says
Most amazing Alfredo pasta! I’ve made it per recipe and also with additions. I’ve added crumbled bacon, mushrooms and green onions at the end. It is a winner!
Karli Bitner says
Bacon is my favorite add in! So glad you love it!